U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis

Press Room

U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON DC 20585

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 30, 2022

Proved reserves of U.S. natural gas established a new record; oil reserves increased by 16% at the end of 2021

In 2021, proved reserves of natural gas set a new record in the United States, and proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate increased, but not quite to pre-pandemic levels. Energy demand had risen from the 2020 lows that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing up prices and making more U.S. resources economically viable.

Table 1. U.S. proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas (2020–21)
	Crude oil (billion barrels)	Crude oil and lease condensate (billion barrels)	Natural gas (trillion cubic feet)
2020 U.S. proved reserves	35.8	38.2	473.3
Year-over-year net change to 2020 U.S. proved reserves	5.3	6.2	152.1
2021 U.S. proved reserves	41.2	44.4	625.4
Year-over-year percentage change	+15%	+16%	+32%
Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Proved Reserves of Crude Oil and Natural Gas in the United States, Year-End 2021

Proved reserves are operator estimates of the volumes of oil and natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.

Estimates of proved reserves are heavily influenced by prices. Higher 2021 prices for crude oil and natural gas were a contributor to higher proved reserve estimates.

The 12-month, first-of-the-month average spot price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil at Cushing, Oklahoma increased by 67% from $39.66 per barrel in 2020 to $66.26 per barrel in 2021. Texas, where more proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate are located than any other, saw the largest net increase in proved reserves in 2021. In 2021, Texas’s annual crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves increased by 12% (1.9 billion barrels) from 16.7 billion barrels to 18.6 billion barrels. New Mexico saw the second-largest net increase of proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate (39%, 1.4 billion barrels), and Alaska the third-largest (31%, 0.7 billion barrels).

The 12-month, first-of-the-month average spot price for natural gas at the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana increased by 84% from $1.99 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2020 to $3.67/MMBtu in 2021. Alaska had the largest increase in proved reserves of natural gas in 2021 (173%, 63.3 trillion cubic feet), which almost tripled the state total compared with 2020. Texas had the second-largest increase of natural gas proved reserves in 2021 (30%, 34 trillion cubic feet). New Mexico had the third-largest increase of natural gas proved reserves (38%, 10 trillion cubic feet).

The full Proved Reserves of Crude Oil and Natural Gas in the United States, Year-End 2021 report is available on the EIA website.

The product described in this press release was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. By law, EIA’s data, analysis, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the U.S. government. The views in the product and press release therefore should not be construed as representing those of the U.S. Department of Energy or other federal agencies.

EIA Program Contact: Steven G. Grape, Steven.Grape@eia.gov

EIA Press Contact: Chris Higginbotham, EIAmedia@eia.gov